Spatangus

Spatangus
Temporal range: Cretaceous - Recent
Spatangus purpureus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Echinoidea
Order: Spatangoida
Family: Spatangidae
Genus: Spatangus
Gray, 1825
Type species
Spatangus purpureus
(O.F. Müller, 1776)
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
  • Prospatangus Lambert, 1902
  • Spatagus

Spatangus is a genus of heart urchins in the Spatangidae family.[1] The genus is synonymous with the previously recognised genera Prospatangus Lambert, 1902 and Spatagus.[1] There are nine recognised species. The type species is Spatangus purpureus Müller, 1776 by subsequent designation (Rowe & Gates, 1995).[1]

Spatangus comprises marine heart urchins that feed on subsurface deposits and graze.[1]

Fossil of heart urchins of this genus have been found in the sediments of Europe, United States, Egypt and Australia from Cretaceous to Pliocene (age range: 85.8 to 2.588 Ma).[2]

Fossil of Spatangus species

Species

Species within this genus include:[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Hansson, H. (2009). Spatangus Gray, 1825. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species on 2 August 2010
  2. ^ a b Fossilworks
  • "Spatangus". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
  • J. E. Gray. 1825. An attempt to divide the Echinida, or Sea Eggs, into natural families. Annals of Philosophy, new series 10:423-431


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